Garces Newsletter
A Letter From the Director of
Campus Ministry
March is already promising to be a great month for spiritual growth on our campus. We just kicked it off with a beautiful Mass celebrated with Bishop Brennan. This was his second visit to our campus this year, and he was so impressed with our students that he’s already scheduled two more return visits in the fall!

Next week, we will welcome a guest speaker Chika Anyanwu onto our campus. She will share her own struggles in faith and how loss in life has led her closer to Christ and given her a great zeal for serving his young church. Parents, we would love for you to join us. She is sure to inspire us all!

We also have our boys and girls, junior/senior retreat days quickly approaching (girls on March 15th and boys on March 29th). These days are going to be so much fun for your student! Not only are they going to be fed well spiritually with national and local speakers joining us, but also physically with snacks and three delicious meals - including Luigi's! Our juniors and seniors will have lots of active time, discussion, and of course, the Sacraments offered. I can’t wait to share with them the fruit of all of the prayer and planning that has gone into making this day so special for them. Please say a prayer for our students and all the speakers we have joining us. To register your student click here.

Every week, we have opportunities to encounter Christ on our campus in real, tangible ways through Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, confessions, Mass and even a weekly Lenten Bible study in the chapel. It’s my joy to provide these opportunities for our students, faculty, and parents alike.

We are excited to offer a new Campus Ministry course to students next year. If your student wants to have a more active role in the spirituality on our campus, be sure to encourage them to register and fill out the application.

In my prayers always,
Mrs. Perez
GMHS Bi-Weekly Schedule
Click here to view the Garces Calendar
Robotics State Competition
March 7th

Boys Soccer SoCal D-III State Finals
March 7th

No School
March 9th

Junior/Senior Girls "Hers" Retreat
March 15th

St. Patrick's Day
March 17th

Next Newsletter
March 20th
Join Us to Celebrate the Man! The Myth! The Legend!

Mark Brown's Retirement Party
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Luigi's Warehouse
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
$60 per person
RSVP by March 23/Tickets Required
Holy Toledo Sports Fans! After 42 years, Mark Brown is retiring from Garces and we want to send him off with a BANG! We are planning a fun night full of good-byes and well wishes from his Garces Friends and Family. He has done so much for the school and all the students and their families through the years. Everyone who loves Mark Brown is invited - alumni, co-workers, coaches, families and friends of Garces. The cost includes a gift for Mr. Brown. You can drop off a check or mail one in payable to Garces Memorial or you can call the Business Office with a credit card at 661-327-2578. Please RSVP to Mr. Blaine Geissel or Ms. Lou Ann Durrett . If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Geissel or Ms. Durrett.
Second Semester Quarter Grades
Students and parents will be able to view second semester quarter grades on March 14, 2020. These grades are significant in that they determine eligibility which will be declared on March 19th. Students must have a 2.0 GPA or above to remain eligible for extracurricular activities and athletics. (please refer to pages 34-36 of the student handbook) Please encourage your students to attend Enrichment and follow up with any missing work, tests or quizzes prior to this deadline.  
Bishop's Day Off
During his visit on Monday, Bishop Joseph Brennan told Ms. Peck he was giving us a day off from school, and he was serious! It is a tradition the bishop started when he was the a uxiliary bishop of Los Angeles . We will not have school on Friday, April 3rd, thanks to Bishop Brennan! That is the Friday before Easter Break. Enjoy your extra long break! 
His + Hers
Catholic Teen Conferences
As you know, our girls portion of the His + Hers Catholic Teen Conference days is coming up. This is the day where all junior/senior girls will come together to pray, build community, have fun, and hear God’s truth. We will have amazing food, amazing speakers, and opportunities for confession, Mass, and Adoration. That being said, it’s important that we cover the day, the students attending, the volunteers leading, in prayer! Not only praying for hearts to respond to the call to be there, but for the event day itself. We will be praying a novena for our girls. A novena is 9 days of prayer, where we ask a specific saint to intercede on our behalf. We have chosen St. Therese of Lisieux for the girls day. If you would like to join, you can click this link here . The novena will start this Saturday, March 7th and go until Sunday, March 15th.
Special People Play Day
Water Donations Needed
Our 25 th annual Special People Play Day is around the corner. We will have many children with special needs joining our students on campus for carnival games, pony rides, petting zoo and more. Last year, we went through 2200 bottles of water, so we are asking the community if they would like to donate a few cases for this event. We will need about 1,100 of the smaller 8 oz bottles, and 1,100 of the 16.9 oz.

Donations can be dropped off at the school anytime leading up to the event! Thank you! If you would like to help with this day in another way, please contact Mrs. Perez .
Newsletter
Do you have news that you would like our Garces community to know or read about? Send it to [email protected]
Tuition Assistance
Any family wishing to be considered for  tuition assistance  must apply no later than  March 13, 2020 . If you currently receive tuition assistance at Garces Memorial,  you must reapply.  All funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis depending on availability and need. A $35 processing fee is required by FACTS Grant & Aid to generate a completed application. 

To apply for tuition assistance, please click on the below links. All steps must be completed, or your application will  not  be accepted.
            Step 1 -   Request for Tuition Assistance Form
            Step 2 -   FACTS Grant & Aid Application
High School Placement Test
If you have an incoming freshman and missed the High School Placement Test, please contact Mr. Coleman in the admissions office to schedule a make-up test.
Garces Alumni Scholarship
Applications Due April 1st
The Garces Alumni Board offers a scholarship to incoming freshmen who are children, or grandchildren, of Garces alumni. Applicants are required to have a 3.0 GPA, submit an essay and a letter of recommendation. The application is due by April 1st . Scholarships will be awarded by April 30th. Please click on the link below for more information or contact the Admissions Office.

Bishop Joseph Brennan Visit
We were so blessed to have Bishop Joseph Brennan celebrate Mass with us today! Bishop Brennan talked about our Lenten journeys and how our sacrifices during Lent help us grow closer with God. Thank you for visiting!
Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday, February 26th, we celebrated Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten season, a time for fasting and prayer. The ashes placed upon our foreheads serves as a reminder of the dust from which God made us.

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
FFA 2020 Kern Country Fair Exhibitor and Parent Meeting
If you are interested in showing an animal at the 2020 Kern County Fair or entering an Ag Mechanics project please join us for a parent and exhibitor meeting in the Ag barn on Tuesday, March 19th. Incoming freshman, transfer and current students welcome! Below you will find the applications for incoming freshmen or transfer students and for current Garces Memorial students. Applications are due on or before March 19th by noon.

When: March 19, 2020
Where: Garces Ag Barn
Time: 6 p.m.
Jazz Concert
On February 27th, the Garces Jazz Band presented classics from the jazz world along with patriotic favorites and classic rock and roll. The Garces Jazz Band is in the classic “big band” style with a great horn section, outstanding drums, percussion, electric bass and guitar.
KernYES!
On February 22nd, Interact Club members Audrey Nail, JP Etcheverry, Fletcher Bank, Palmer Bank, Bayleigh Ochoa and Logan Bowers attended the KernYES Youth Empowerment Summit. The one-day summit is associated with local Rotary Clubs and offers high school students the opportunity to develop leadership skills, make connections and hear from local leaders.
Read Across America
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss
This morning students Ebu Ekpemogu, Olivia Holland, Jasmine Romero, Sara Wiswall, Avi Borba, Nate St. Claire, Nat Antongiovanni, Alvaro Lopez, Laura English, Abi Lee, Kelela Strahan, Cole Bertolucci and Brooke Barns participated in CAPK’s “Read Across America” day. They read to pre-school students at CAPK’s Pete Parra Head Start School. The students also generously donated books to each classroom. Sam the Ram joined them as well! The students are pictured with Garces alum and CAPK’s CEO Jeremy Tobias.
Sports Recap
Boys Basketball
The Garces boys basketball team concluded the season with a loss to Fresno-Hoover in the Central Section Division III semifinals, but the season was one of the best for the Rams (21-10) in the better part of the last decade.The 21 wins for the Rams is the most since 2009 and the Rams advanced to the semifinals for the first time in seven years. Along with finishing second in the Southwest Yosemite League, the Rams won the inaugural South Yosemite Conference title and won two playoff games at home and played Hoover in front of the largest crowd at home of the season.
J.J. Uphold led the Rams with 12.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while Jack Hatten (11.3) and Ipreye Egbe (10.6) also averaged double figure scoring for Garces this season.
The Rams will return three starters in Uphold, Egbe and Dom D’Amato, who all will be seniors next season.
Boys Soccer
The Garces boys soccer team is playing for a second consecutive state championship on Saturday at Sam Tobias Field. The Rams, seeded No. 2 in the CIF Southern California Division III playoffs, defeated No. 6 Norwalk 3-0 in the semifinals on Thursday. Palmer Bank pitched his 14th shutout as his twin brother, Fletcher, Elijah Toppila and Angel Navarro all scored. 
The Rams, who won the D-V title last year, will host No. 5 Corona-Santiago on Saturday in the D-III finals at 4 p.m. 
Boys Wrestling
What a weekend it was for Garces freshman Tye Monteiro. After losing to the nation’s top-ranked 152-pounder in the opening pigtail round at the CIF State boys wrestling championships at Mechanics Bank Arena, Monteiro put together one of the best runs in the consolation bracket. Monteiro pinned his next five opponents and became the first Garces wrestler to medal at state, finishing in eighth place. During the run of pins, Monteiro, ranked No. 23 in the state, upset the No. 4, No. 7, No. 12 and No. 18 ranked wrestlers in California. Monteiro finished the season with a 37-11 record and tied for the most pins at the state championships last weekend.
Baseball
The young Rams have lost five games this season by three runs or less, but there is plenty to be excited about heading into tonight’s game at Taft at 6 p.m. Freshman Toby Twist has been a bright spot with a 1.17 ERA in six innings, striking out seven. With Twist, Tommy Armendariz and Landon Riley all leading the way on the mound, the Rams look to get SWYL play started off next Thursday at Frontier. 
Softball
The Rams are 2-0 in the young season heading into this weekend’s Driller Softball Tournament. Shelby Buchanan has six hits in seven at bats, all are extra base hits, including three home runs. Buchanan hit a go-ahead solo homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning on Monday as the Rams beat Highland 4-3.
Swim & Dive
Garces is in action Saturday at the Taft Invite and is coming off a very successful quad-meet at home last week with numerous “Valley cuts.” The boys 200-meter medley relay of Chance Miller, Nathan James, Rory Begin and George Rice all made a cut time. Sophomore Logan Wimbish also made a Valley cut in the girls 200 free in 2:01.04 and Begin also made a Valley cut in the 200 free (1:48.58). 
Boys Tennis
The Rams only match this season was in a 9-0 loss to Clovis-Buchanan two weeks ago, but are back in action this weekend in the Independence Tournament. The Rams are led by Patrick Blaine, Luke Jameison, Marc Martinez, Asher Allison and Raffi Bouldoukian this weekend.
Track & Field
The season is only a couple of weeks old, but junior Zach Buckey has already set himself near the top of the standing in the state in the discus. Buckey is ranked No. 4 in California with a throw of 170 feet, five inches at the Black Gold Thrower’s Championship in Taft on Feb. 22. Buckey and the rest of the Garces track and field team are in action today at the EB Relays at Bakersfield College. 
Boys Golf
Garces took home the title at the 15th annual Sanger Invitational while Giancarlo Sacco won the tournament with a score of 73. Dom Eddy finished third with an 80. The Rams open SWYL play Tuesday in the first league meet at noon at North Kern Golf Course.
Msgr. Leddy Golf Classic is Fast Approaching

If you can help with this year's tournament and/or would like to put together a foursome and sponsor, contact Tonya Abbott at [email protected] or Committee Chair John Hatten at [email protected].

Click here to download the entry form.

Our next committee meeting is Thursday, March 12th at 4:00 here at Garces.
Click here to give online or click here to download this year's Garces Fund literature.
Our faculty and staff now have a way to share some of their classroom needs with our Garces community. Garces Memorial has been selected as one of the pilot private schools to utilize this special site. Check out the Garces Memorial Beyond Measure site.

Congratulations Pat Lencioni ‘83
Garces alum Pat Lencioni ’83, president of The Table Group, has a new book out! It is “ The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities”. In most of Pat’s books, he focuses on how to be a great leader and run a healthy organization, but in his new book, Pat shifts his attention toward helping leaders consider why they are leading in the first place. Pat’s goal is to help leaders adjust their leadership motive so that they can embrace the difficult and critical nature of leading an organization. It is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble . 
Hall of Honor Nominations
Due Friday, March 13th
The Garces Alumni Board is accepting nominations for the 2020 Hall of Honor. The Alumni Board is looking to honor those alumni or friends of Garces who have helped to make our school the special place it is by giving back of their time, treasure, or talents or those who have gone on to do amazing things and have brought great distinction to our school. Nominations are due by March 13, 2020. Below is a list of inductees to date.
In Memoriam
We ask that our Garces community continue to keep the families of the alumni and friends listed below in their prayers.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
Col. 3:15



If you would like to make a memorial gift in memory of a loved one, you can click on one of the links below. You can opt to give the funds to Garces to assist with the operations of the school or you can designate it for a specific program for the current school year. Or you can give to the Bakersfield Catholic Education Foundation to help grow the endowment for the future benefit of Garces Memorial High School.